Scientists have found evidence that there are reserves of liquid water in the crust of Mars. Based on the conclusions obtained with the data gathered by the NASA (United States Space Agency) Mars InSight probe, it will be possible to direct further research into the possibility of life outside Earth.
The module collected information from the soil beneath it and provided information about its composition, providing evidence that there is liquid water on the planet — an element necessary for the existence of life.
Published this Monday (12) in the magazine Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesthe study used data that Mars InSight collected during a mission that lasted four years and ended in 2022.
“Understanding the Martian water cycle is essential to understanding the evolution of the climate, surface and interior,” said Vashan Wright, a geophysicist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, and leader of the research.
Frozen water at the poles is known to scientists, however, its discovery in liquid form creates new research scenarios on the possibility of habitation on Mars and on forms of extraterrestrial life. “A useful starting point is to identify where the water is and how much there is,” commented Wright.
Icy exoplanet may contain atmosphere and liquid ocean, study says
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